Cheers! Beer Grotto raises $2,000 for Great Lakes charity

You know that look a young child flashes when they know they’ve done something good? Well, that’s the look Jake Vanatta flashed when talking about raising money for the Alliance of the Great Lakes.

While Vanatta isn’t a child, the director of marketing for the Beer Grotto is certainly proud of how a good idea became a good amount of money for a local charity. The folks at Dexter’s Beer Grotto, in partnership with Dark Horse Brewing Co., put their money where their mouth was last month and raised a few dollars short of $2,000.

After the final last call of the month, 1,998 drafts were sold with one dollar from each draft going to AGL.

“It was a great success,” Vanatta said. “We had great support at all three locations from the community and our customers. We were really happy.”

The three Beer Grotto locations also had a friendly competition going on with the Ann Arbor Grotto claiming the top prize with 782 drafts. Lansing was a close second with 734 with the smaller Dexter location drinking up an impressive 482 drafts.

“Dexter obviously is a much smaller market so we really happy with the number they put up,” Vanatta said.

Dark Horse is one of many beers on tap at The Beer Grotto in Dexter. It’s made in Marshall and Vanatta says they have a great partnership with the popular local brewery.

“They have been a big partner with us since day one and they were on board with the charity we chose and they were very supportive of the idea,” Vanatta said.

The Alliance of the Great Lakes is dedicated to keeping the state’s largest sources of freshwater clean for future generations.

Focusing on the topic of Great Lakes conservation was an easy pour for the Beer Grotto since freshwater resources are an important element in the craft beer industry. “Water is one of the four main ingredients in beer,” Van Atta said. “We want to make sure the water stays good so the beer stays good.”

Seems whatever the Beer Grotto touches is successful so it’s not surprising their first venture into philanthropy rang up a nice check for a very worthy and local cause.

“As we continue to grow we want to continue to do things like this in the community,” Vanatta said. “We plan doing more events and things for local charities and the community and continue to showcase the local breweries.”

So raise a glass to the Beer Grotto, Dark Horse and the Alliance of the Great Lakes.
Cheers!

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